Last week: 6-3 Season: 7-3
There are a ton of ACC games to get to this week -- but just one that pits two conference teams -- and one top 10 vs. top 10 matchup. Virginia faces William & Mary on Friday, but I'll stick the write-up for that contest at the end of this post like usual.
Friday
Wake Forest (1-0) at Rice (0-1), 8 p.m. CBS Sports Network
The Demon Deacons opened the season with a thrilling 38-35 home win over Utah State, which went 11-2 in 2018. The Owls lost to Army, 14-7. Rice is expected to be pretty bad again in former Stanford offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren's second season leading the program. Wake is favored by nearly 20 points and won this meeting last year in Winston-Salem, 56-24. I'll give Rice modest improvement in the result.
Wake Forest 49, Rice 27
Saturday
Ohio (1-0) at Pittsburgh (0-1), 11 a.m. ACC Network
The Bobcats, 45-31 losers to UVa in 2018 (they finished 9-4), face the Cavaliers' Week 1 opponent. Ohio topped Rhode Island, 41-20, in Week 1. The Bobcats should be able to make this interesting against the Panthers. The two schools' campuses are only a little over three hours apart.
Pitt 30, Ohio 24
No. 21 Syracuse (1-0) at Maryland (1-0), Noon ESPN
The Orange shut out Liberty, 24-0 in Week 1. The Terrapins put up 79 points, but they did so against Howard in a shutout. Maryland is actually favored by two points. Virginia Tech transfer Josh Jackson is Maryland's QB. Tommy DeVito was not sharp in his debut as Syracuse's starting QB, but I'll pick the Orange to squeeze by.
Syracuse 27, Maryland 24
Old Dominion (1-0) at Virginia Tech (0-1), Noon ESPNU
It won't happen again ... will it? The Hokies are favored by 28.5 points. The Monarchs opened with a 24-21 win over Norfolk State. Two years ago, Tech won this meeting, 38-0, and we all know what happened last season in Norfolk.
Virginia Tech 38, Old Dominion 17
Western Carolina (0-1) at N.C. State (1-0), 12:30 p.m. ACC Network Extra
N.C. State 42, Western Carolina 7
South Florida (0-1) at Georgia Tech (0-1), 2 p.m. ACC Network
The Yellow Jackets got demolished in coach Geoff Collins' debut at Clemson, but what did that really tell us? No team was winning at Clemson in Week 1. Here's a better measuring stick for how long the rebuild will take in Atlanta. The Bulls, led by former Louisville and Texas coach Charlie Strong, went 10-2 in his first season at USF two years ago, but last year, after starting 7-0, lost their last six games and then opened their 2019 campaign with a 49-0 loss to Wisconsin. Last season, these teams met at USF with the Bulls winning, 49-38. This year, neither team appears good. Georgia Tech is actually favored by six. This could be ugly but entertaining.
South Florida 27, Georgia Tech 26
No. 12 Texas A&M (1-0) at No. 1 Clemson (1-0), 3:30 p.m. ABC
The Aggies, along with Syracuse, gave the Tigers their only scares in 2018, nearly upending Clemson before falling 28-26 at home. I think Clemson takes care of business more easily this time around.
Clemson 38, Texas A&M 20
Richmond (1-0) at Boston College (1-0), 3:30 p.m. ACC Network Extra
Boston College 38, Richmond 13
Louisiana-Monroe (1-0) at Florida State (0-1), 5 p.m. ACC Network
The Seminoles built an 18-point lead against Boise State last week before giving it all away in a 36-31 loss. This week, I think the fans can put their tomahawks away and stop pointing them at Willie Taggart. But who knows down the line.
Florida State 38, Louisiana-Monroe 17
North Carolina A&T (1-0) at Duke (0-1), 6 p.m. ACC Network Extra
Wow. The Blue Devils go from facing Alabama in Atlanta to hosting N.C. A&T. This should help them get on the right track.
Duke 45, North Carolina A&T 10
Eastern Kentucky (1-0) at Louisville (0-1), 7 p.m. ACC Network Extra
The Colonels beat Valparaiso 53-7 last week. I have no idea if that means they can make this interesting. The Cardinals, who aren't expected to be very good, gave a good account of themselves in losing to Notre Dame, 35-17, in coach Scott Satterfield's debut.
Louisville 31, Eastern Kentucky 13
No. 6 LSU (1-0) at No. 9 Texas (1-0), 7:30 p.m. ABC
The Longhorns blew past Louisiana Tech, 45-14 in their opener, and the Tigers took care of Georgia Southern, 55-3. This should be a good game pitting two interesting personalities in coaches Ed Orgeron (LSU) and Tom Herman (Texas). It's awesome that such a big early-season matchup is actually taking place at a home field and not at a neutral location. I'm giving LSU the slight edge, but wouldn't be surprised if Texas pulled the upset.
LSU 27, Texas 24
Miami (0-1) at North Carolina (1-0), 8 p.m. ACC Network
The Hurricanes were off last week after opening in "Week 0" with a sloppy 24-20 loss to a ranked Florida team. UNC got a solid 24-20 victory in Week 1 in Charlotte over South Carolina in Mack Brown's return to the school. Like Pitt-Virginia, this is a good early-season Coastal Division matchup that will help to set the stage for the rest of the season. I'm expecting a close game.
Miami 24, North Carolina 21
No. 23 Stanford (1-0) at USC (1-0), 10:30 p.m. ESPN
The Cardinal topped Northwestern 17-7 last week, and the Trojans downed Fresno State (12-2 in 2018) 31-23, but this will be a battle of backup quarterbacks. USC lost JT Daniels for the season to a knee injury, and now they turn to true freshman Kedon Slovis. Stanford's KJ Costello missed the second half of the Cardinal's win and is out of this matchup with a head injury. Davis Mills will lead Stanford at QB. I like Stanford and its defense better overall to eke out a victory.
Stanford 20, USC 17
William & Mary (1-0) at Virginia (1-0), 8 p.m. Friday ACC Network
Given the Cavaliers' improvement since the beginning of last season and the starting point of the Tribe this year, UVa should make quick work of W&M. "Should," which is always the key word for a Virginia football fan. William & Mary toppled Virginia 26-14 in Charlottesville 10 years ago, but these programs look way different now. Then, UVa was in its final season under Al Groh and ended up finishing 3-9. W&M, meanwhile, went 11-3 and lost in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs, the furthest it advanced in longtime coach Jimmye Laycock's tenure. Now, Virginia looks much better than it did three years ago when it opened with a home loss to Richmond after topping Pitt on the
road last week, 30-14. Meanwhile, W&M went 4-6 last season in Laycock's final campaign, and former UVa coach Mike London now leads the Tribe after two years at Howard, where he went 7-4 and then 4-6. W&M is running a fast-paced offense this season and started a true freshman quarterback, Hollis Mathis, last week, in defeating Lafayette, 30-17, and also used a second QB, Kilton Anderson. But the Tribe needed 24 points in the third quarter and four turnovers by Lafayette to spur the win after being down 10-6 at the break. Mathis ran for 127 yards and a touchdown and was only 6 of 13 for 66 yards through the air. UVa didn't have any turnovers against Pitt, and if it is careful with the ball again, the Tribe's offense is going to find the going much tougher against the Cavaliers' stout defense. Virginia's offense should be able to iron out some issues, and the defense will be looking for a shutout, but I'll give the Tribe a late touchdown or field goal to help it reach double digits.
Virginia 45, William & Mary 10
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